1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to snare strainers that control snare assemblies (including snares) to move in close contact with or apart from drumheads.
This application claims priority on Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-37957, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Snare drums produce special sound effects called tumbling effects, wherein snare assemblies each corresponding to a plurality of fine snares are controlled to move in close contact with or apart from bottom-side drumheads (corresponding to non-striking sides of snare drums), or they are controlled to move in close contact with or apart from both of bottom-side drumheads and top-side drumheads (corresponding to striking sides of snare drums), so that vibrations of drumheads are transmitted to snares to produce pattering or rattling sounds having light tone colors. The following documents teach adjustments of snares adapted to snare drums.    (a) Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. S58-50372.    (b) U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,445.    (c) U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,157.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the exterior appearance of a snare drum equipped with a snare assembly in relation to a bottom-side drumhead; and FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the exterior appearance of the snare drum viewed from the top-side drumhead thereof. Reference numeral 1 designates a snare drum; reference numeral 2 designates a drum shell, i.e., a drum cylinder having openings at both ends; reference numeral 3 designates a bottom-side drumhead covering the bottom-side opening of the drum cylinder 2; reference numeral 4 designates a top-side drumhead covering the top-side opening of the drum cylinder 2; reference numerals 5 designate hoops (or clamp frames) engaging with the peripheries of the openings of the drum cylinder 2; reference numerals 6 designate lugs; reference numerals 7 designate bolts for interconnecting the hoops 5 and the lugs 6 together; reference numeral 8 designates a snare assembly (i.e., snares) attached in relation to the bottom-side drumhead 3; reference numeral 9 designates a first strainer for holding a movable end 8A of the snare assembly 8; and reference numeral 10 designates a second strainer for holding a fixed end 8B of the snare assembly 8. A snare strainer is constituted by the first strainer 9 and the second strainer 10.
The snare assembly 8 includes a plurality of fine snares 11 that are arranged in parallel with each other in the longitudinal direction with prescribed distances therebetween, a pair of snare mounting plates 12 that are respectively soldered to both ends of the snares 11, and a pair of snare connection members having flexibility that are respectively attached to the snare mounting plates 12. The snare connection members 13 constituted by belts are pressed by pressure plates 14 and 26 and are detachably attached to the first strainer 9 and the second strainer 10 respectively. The snare mounting plates 12 are arranged inside of the hoop 5 to come in close contact with the bottom-side drumhead 3 together with the snares 11. This snare assembly 8 is referred to as an internal contact type snare assembly. In contrast, a full contact type snare assembly is designed such that the ends of snares 11 and the snare mounting plates 12 are arranged outside of the hoop 5.
The first strainer 9 controls the movable end 8A of the snare assembly 8 to move in close contact with or apart from the bottom-side drumhead 3. Specifically, the first strainer 9 is constituted by a fixed base 15 that is fixed to a prescribed position on the exterior circumferential surface of the drum cylinder 2, a moving base 16 that can be freely moved with respect to the fixed base 15 in vertical directions A and B, a switch mechanism 17 that switches over the vertical movement of the moving base 16 with respect to the fixed base 15 so as to control the movable end 8A of the snare assembly 8 to move in close contact with or apart from the bottom-side drumhead 3, and a tension adjustment screw 18 that controls the vertical movement of the moving base 16 with respect to the fixed base 15 so as to perform fine adjustment on the tension applied to the snare assembly 8. The snare connection member 13 is tightly held between the pressure plate 14 and the moving base 16, wherein the pressure plate 14 is fixed to the moving base 16 by means of two square-headed bolts 19.
The switch mechanism 17 includes an operation lever 20 whose rotation is converted into a linear motion by means of a link or a cam (not shown) and is transmitted to the moving base 16. Generally, two types of operations can be adapted to the operation lever 20, wherein in the case of FIG. 11, the operation lever 20 is moved in circumferential directions C and D along the exterior circumferential surface of the drum cylinder 2, and in the case of FIG. 12, the operation lever 20 is moved in diameter directions E and F perpendicular to the exterior circumferential surface of the drum cylinder 2.
In FIG. 10, the second strainer 10 is constituted by a fixed base 23 that is fixed to a prescribed position on the exterior circumferential surface of the drum cylinder 2, a moving base 24 that can be vertically moved with respect to the fixed base 23, and a tension adjustment screw 25 that controls the vertical movement of the moving base 24 so as to perform fine adjustment on the tension applied to the snare assembly 8. The snare connection member 13 attached to the fixed end 8B of the snare assembly 8 is tightly held between the moving base 24 and the pressure plate 26.
According to the snare strainer including the first strainer 9 and the second strainer 10, when the snare drum 1 is played without using the snare assembly 8, the switch mechanism 17 of the first strainer 9 is controlled to move the moving base 16 forward in the direction A, whereby the tension applied to the snares 11 of the snare assembly 8 is reduced so that both the snares 11 and the snare mounting plate 12 move apart from the bottom-side drumhead 3. When the snare drum 1 is played by use of the snare assembly 8, the switch mechanism 17 is controlled to move the moving base 16 backward in the direction B, whereby the snare connection member 13 is stretched so as to increase the tension of the snares 11, so that both the snares 11 and the snare mounting plate 12 move in close contact with the bottom-side drumhead 3. In this ‘contact’ condition, when the top-side drumhead 4 is struck by a drumstick and the like, vibration occurring on the top-side drumhead 4 is transmitted to the snares 11 via the bottom-side drumhead 3, whereby the snares 11 correspondingly vibrate so as to produce unique sound of the snare drum 1, i.e., pattering or rattling sound having a light tone color.
As described above, the first strainer 9 is designed such that the snare connection member 13 is fixed onto the moving base 16. In order to control the snare assembly 8 to move in close contact with or apart from the bottom-side drumhead 3, the first strainer 9 requires a specific mechanism for moving the moving base 16, wherein the rotary motion of the operation lever 20 is converted into the linear motion by means of a link or a cam and is then transmitted to the moving base 16. This requires an appropriate clearance allowing smooth sliding movement between the fixed base 15 and the moving base 16, which in turn causes a problem in that when the moving base 16 slides to move vertically during drum playing, the moving base 16 may easily rattle and produce noise.
The aforementioned problem may be solved by minimizing the clearance so as to prevent the moving base 16 from rattling. However, this requires strict dimensional tolerance and therefore increases the manufacturing cost. In addition, this may cause a relatively large friction when the moving base 16 is slid to move vertically; hence, it becomes difficult to smoothly move the moving base 16.